Serra District 7 South Newsletter

Transcription

1 Serra District 7 South Newsletter Vol. II, Issue 1, June 2017 To My Fellow Serrans: I am happy to announce that our District 7 South will be publishing a District newsletter. Mary Mamer of the Owatonna Serra Club will be the publisher. I am asking each president of the Serra Clubs to submit articles to Mary on what activities are taking place within their club. She would appreciate input from the Presidents of the Rochester, Wabasha, Mankato, Winona, and Owatonna clubs. The current Club Presidents Report of incoming officers were to be submitted by June 1, 2017 to the District Governor, Regional Director (Bill Ohnsted), and the Chicago Office (Peter Cunningham). Mary Mamer s address is as follows: Mary T. Mamer 1132 Hawthorne Avenue Owatonna, MN , Phone: (507) marymamer@hotmail.com Two of our priests in the Diocese of Winona retired at the end of June. They are Father Joe Fogal of Pax Christi in Rochester and Father Charlie Collins of St. Pius X in Rochester. Keep them in your prayers. We thank them for all they have done in our Diocese of Winona. Two of our current seminarians, who are currently studying in the major seminary in Detroit, Michigan, were ordained Deacons at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Winona on Friday, June 23, They are Brian Mulligan from Rochester and The` Hoang of Owatonna. As your District Governor, my wife and I attended this event. I hope many Serrans attended this ordination to support these great young men. The Serra International Convention is being held in Rome this year. The dates of the convention are June 22-25, So far, I am aware that two individuals from District 7S will be attending. Next year, the Serra International Convention will be held in Nashville, TN. Last year, I attended the Serra International Convention in St. Louis, MO. It was very District Governor s Message worthwhile. We enjoyed excellent inspiring speakers. We, as Serran s, need to welcome new members into our respective clubs. Please also keep all of the new seminarians being ordained in the Winona Diocese and the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul in your prayers. I am also happy to announce that JoAnn Eichten has accepted the nomination to be my successor on July 1, She will be voted on at each of the club s meetings in June. Congratulations! You are a worthy candidate. JoAnn is a member of the Owatonna Serra Club. Also, I am happy to announce that Virginia Smith of the Rochester Serrans has accepted the position of District 7STreasurer. Virginia will be another asset to our District. The feast of St. Junipera Serra was July 1st. Continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood as we are in dire need of these young men and women to enter into our diocese. Congratulations are extended to the eleven (11) men of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul who were ordained in St. Paul. May God continue to bless each and every one of you and your families. Also extending safe travels this summer. May God continue to bless each and every one of you and your families. Also extending safe travels this summer. Chuck DeVos District 7S Governor (507) chuckdevos4@gmail.com

2 Vol. II, Issue 1, p. 2 Serra District 7S Newsletter June 2017 Membership Rev. J. Kevin Kenny wrote, I believe that Serrans are called to be uncommon men and women, showing to their brethern in the Church and in society the source of true joy a joy that crisis cannot destroy, a joy that cannot be driven out by pain, sorrow, or apparent failure. Our joy is Jesus! Serra is about growth in our faith and Love of Christ! Serrans have much to give to the church thought and teaching, but their primary task lies in the quality and effectiveness of the impact they make on secular society. Serrans have seen a vision. They are to live a fellowship for justice and human fulfillment. How many people have you invited to join your Serra Club? Have you told them about our Faith activities, the benefits of being a Serran, our Holy Hours for vocations, the Great Promise Award, beneficial meetings, social gatherings to become more acquainted with other Catholics and give them an opportunity to know what Serra is all about? If you don t tell others about Serra and invite them to come spend some time with us to learn what we do, they will not come. Keep your invitations simple, but inviting! All you want them to do first is to come! They will learn about Serra and our activities quickly if you help them become active. Please invite, inform, and be friends with them before and after they join. Show them that we are Serrans by your example! Invitation for Your Club Mary Mamer, Membership VP Do you know someone who appears to meet the qualifications of a good Serran? We are looking for people of all ages who are practicing Catholic lay men and women, who have a desire to pray and work for vocations to the priesthood and religious life and who will contribute by prayer, are willing to do the work of Serra and are able to meet the financial obligations of being a member. If you know a person who appears to meet these qualifications, please propose that person s name to your membership VP either in person or by , who can then proceed to meet with them to introduce them to Serra, and inform them of the purpose and benefits of membership and the joys and satisfaction that membership can offer. There are more suggestions in the Serra Membership Manual or the Serra websites. New members will not come unless you invite them and then keep them informed and interested! Mary Mamer, Membership

3 Vol. II, Issue 1, p. 3 Serra District 7S Newsletter June 2017 Always Forward, Never Back That s something our patron, St. Junipero Serra says to always walk forward, not worrying about anything that happened in the past, but asking God to help us in the future. We celebrated the first anniversary of his Feast Day on July 1st. I hope everyone celebrated and remembered his canonization, Pope Francis visit to America, and the amazing celebrations last year! I m sure that Serra has a great future, God is with us, and has asked us to do this work. The Vatican has declared Serra as the lay arm of the Church. So let s put our heart into the work of Serra! I am JoAnn Eichten, your new District Governor-elect. I have been a Serra member for eight years and have held every office except Treasurer. I was the president of the Serra Club of Owatonna Area for a two-year term from June 2014 May I attended the Serra International Convention in St. Louis last year, which I thoroughly loved. That s enough about me, now how about you? I hope that you will help me learn how to be a good District Governor this year, and will ask me lots of questions. I hope you will invite me to club meetings and goings on, and that we can all get to know each other. That s part of being Serrans, to get to know each other and support each other in all we do. JoAnn Eichten, District Governor-Elect Serra International Retreat Promoting Vocations by Living Our Baptism Father James Kubiciki, SJ Christ the King Retreat House 621 1st Ave S, Buffalo, MN Phone: November 17 to 19, 2017 Suggested Donation: $ per person (includes a non-refundable deposit of $30.00)

4 Vol. 2, Issue 1, p. 4 Serra District 7S Newsletter June 2017 Club Problems? Re-Energize Yourself & Your Club Richard Arians, US Council of Serra International VP Programs Our Serran mission is critical to a Church that has met some of the biggest and most insurmountable challenges an organization can face. I know of no other organization that has continued for the amount of time our Church has, and existed. Faith and trust in the Lord will help accomplish our goals according to His Will. Supporting our priests and religious, encouraging an environment of prayer in our parishes for families to listen and recognize God s call, and recognizing our own call to Holiness are vital in our daily and spiritual lives. The job is a big one and one that is met with many challenges, not unlike the challenges the Church has experienced since Christ set the foundation on this rock over 2,000 years ago. We sometimes tend to focus on the problems rather than the solutions. We tend to complain about what could have been, what should have been, and would have been. Each club has challenges, whether it is in developing new leaders, gaining more members, too much and too many things to do with the resources we have. These challenges can seem overwhelming and too complicated to overcome. For this reason each of us needs to be re-energized in our mission. Here are some suggestions and best practices to consider: First, pray and reflect on the good things that you and your club has accomplished. Don t be too hard on yourself. Know that your being a Serran shows your commitment to the Church and a yearning to develop your own faith. Recognize the challenges and identify them. Exactly what are the challenges that face the club? What are the roadblocks that prevent you from moving to the level you wish to achieve. Be clear and don t concern yourself with solutions at this point. I think you will find that many organizations face the same challenges within and outside the Church. Don t go it alone. Address challenges as a group, not so much in a club meeting, but a less formal planning meeting designed to discuss and set action plans. You will be surprised to find that people will step forward when they see the need to do so. God, through the Holy Spirit, provides inspiration, but you must ask for it. Refuse to become discouraged. Think of the problems of Father Junípero Serra as he worked with the California natives in establishing missions and fighting for their rights with the Spanish colonists. You think you have problems!! Remember Serra s mantra, Always forward, never back. Finally, do something! That s right, do something! It s easy to complain and identify problems. The fun thing is to set a plan of action and carry it out. Continued on page 5 Always forward, never back Do Something

5 Vol. 2, Issue 1, p. 5 Serra District 7S News June 2017 Here are some other things that you and your members can do to re-energize yourself * Whenever you can, participate in the Serra National Conference calls. Each committee; Vocations, Membership, Programs, and Communications, have a monthly conference call designed to share ideas. * Have each one of your members get the regular communications from Serra International. Just go to the website and enter a member s at the button Receive Serra News * Have your president or another member attend the District Governor Quarterly updates. Your District Governor knows the three date/time options available. * Ask your District Governor and Regional Director for help. Discuss some of your challenges on the phone and when appropriate, invite them to a meeting. * Become familiar with the Serra International and US Council websites. There are many resources available on these sites. * Attend Serra Spring Leadership, the Serra Retreat, or other club events as a way to meet other Serrans. Personal contact with a Serran can be a natural re-energizer. In closing, thanks to all of you for what you are doing in the name of Serra and your Church! Richard Arians, US Council of Serra International VP Programs Saint Junipero Serra St. Junipero Serra was canonized a Saint by Pope Francis on September 3, We were blessed that he was canonized in the United States of America! Pray to him for an increase of members to our Serra Clubs. Without members, we cannot continue to do the important work of Serra. We need the help of every member of our clubs to increase membership. We can t just leave it up to God to do the encouraging! We must do our share to inform and talk about the priesthood and religious life to our young people. Your encouragement, have you thought about being a priest or religious may be all that a young person needs to consider the priesthood or religious life. I, personally, remember making that statement to a young man at St. Joseph Church, will be ordained next year. What a blessing those few words were for this one individual and for us. Keep our seminarians in your prayers. It demonstrates that God works through his people and answers prayers. Ask for the intersession of St.Junipero Serra for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Mary Mamer

6 Vol. II, Issue 1, page 6 Serra District 7S Newsletter June 2017 Addresses for District 7S Club Presidents MANKATO: Richard Arians Night Owl Lane Madison Lake, MN Phone: (507) richardarians@hotmail.com ROCHESTER: Ed Rowley th Street SE, Rochester, MN Phone: (507) janrowley@yahoo.com OWATONNA: Rose Ann Kubicek 3074 SW 108 th Street Ellendale, MN Phone: ( brucegbcek@gmail.com WABASHA: Dan Schaefer th Avenue, Reads Landing, MN Phone: (608) dschaefer@hbci.com WINONA: John Wagenaar (President) 558 East Sanborn Street Winona, MN Phone: (507) jrw19461@hotmail.com I believe that Serrans are called to be uncommon men and women, showing to their brethren in the Church and in society the source of true joy, a joy that crisis cannot destroy, a joy that cannot be driven out by pain, sorrow, or apparent failure. No human ideology can give birth to such joy. It comes from and is a person. Simple, but sublime, is the fact that our joy is Jesus, our Lord. Rev. J. Kevin Kenney The Serra Quarterly Newsletter, District 7 South, Region 8, United States Council of Serra International is published quarterly in Owatonna, Minnesota. You are invited to submit articles for the next newsletter, which will be published at editor s discretion due to space available. Please submit to Mary Mamer, marymamer@hotmail.com before August 15, 2017 for the September edition of District 7South News. Thank you to all who submitted articles for this newsletter. Mary T. Mamer, Editor ( )